Hi there everyone 😀
The second full day of our long weekend in Yorkshire, spending time with old friends, was another glorious day and we were meeting up in Thonton-le-Dale.
We decided not to have breakfast at The Premier Inn, but to head out a bit earlier and grab a sausage roll or something to see us through till lunchtime.
Whilst we’d been to Thornton-le-Dale before it had only been a flying visit and we were looking forward to having a nice relaxing day exploring a bit more.
From the minute we arrived it was destined to be a lovely day. We parked in the main car park, which must have been an old walled garden at some point and, for a car park, it was just lovely and we spent a while just soaking up the sun and enjoying the herbaceous border running along the top end of the car park …
From here it was a very short stroll through the woods, past the duck pond and over the bridge across the beck to take us right into the heart of the village, which was buzzing with activity …
We found ourselves a little sandwich shop and grabbed sausage rolls, which we took back to the car park to sit and eat in the sunshine, whilst waiting for the rest of ‘the gang’ to arrive.
We didn’t have long to wait and we were soon back in the village centre having a mooch about … stopping for a chat with the ice cream man, who I’d already acquainted in the sandwich shop … I had thought he was dressed a little oddly …
As we were already ‘friends’ he was more than happy to let us make the most of the photo opportunity, which, after a little hesitation, we just could not resist …
After a very nice chat and promising to come back for ice creams later we continued our wander. We were heading for Mathewsons Auctions … home of ‘Bangers and Cash’ … a favourite TV programme of Jude and Rob. We all had a good mooch in the gift shop and had just all congregated outside to move in when there was a squeal of glee from Jude as she’d spotted Derek … star of the show. They were straight back in for selfies and a chat and came out grinning from ear to ear 😂😂😂
After all the excitement it was time for a bit of a breather and we managed to find a table in the courtyard at Baldersons where we enjoyed a quick refreshment stop.
After a good mooch round the shop we continued heading along the road, passing the almshouses, where the selfie stick made another appearance …
We were heading for Beck Isle Cottage, a chocolate box thatched cottage which is one of the most photographed spots you will find. It is lovely and we were lucky to be able to not have to wait too long to be able to grab some photos with no one else around …
Our walk took us past the cottage …
… along Thornton Beck and across the footbridge …
… where we headed left and up the hill then left again until we ended up back on the Main Street. We headed back past the almshouses …
… and into The Buck Inn, where we found a lovely spot in the garden for lunch …
After lunch there was just one thing left to do …
… before we all headed off for a bit of downtime before meeting back up again later at Jude and Rob’s van for another evening of chat and a supper of all kinds of ‘picky bits’.
Before we knew it it was time to say our good byes for this year and for us to head back to The Premier Inn for bed.
We’d had another super weekend … been so lucky again with the weather and spent some lovely relaxing time together.
Next year you will find us in North Wales in the Llyn Peninsular and there are no prizes for guessing where we will be staying 😜
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